Shockwave has been referred to as "a computer on legs." This is not far from the truth. Logic rules Shockwave's thought processes and is the source of his every inspiration. He sees emotion as a weakness and a distraction. His cold and calculating modus operandi is supported by his frightening and exceptionally powerful form.

Shockwave is possibly even more powerful than Megatron, to whom he appears to be loyal. Perhaps logic may one day dictate that the time to replace Megatron's flawed, emotion-fueled rule is at hand. After all, the only logical choice for Decepticon leader would be Shockwave himself.

Contents

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Note:Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

After the Autobots had successfully destroyed the asteroids threatening Cybertron, Megatron and the other Decepticons attacked the Ark while Shockwave remained behind on their ship to pilot it. When the Ark subsequently crashed on Earth, deactivating all those within, Shockwave followed the ship down, but a malfunction in his guidance systems caused him to land half a world away, in the tropical Antarctic jungle known as the Savage Land. The Ark's dying computer detected his presence there and reactivated five Autobots, rebuilding them in the shapes of the Savage Land's native dinosaurs. The Last Stand These "Dinobots" battled Shockwave, a battle that ended in permanent stalemate when Snarl brought down the mountain that Shockwave stood upon, knocking all the combatants into a tar pit. Repeat Performance!

Early on, Shockwave establishes the pecking order.

In 1984, when the rest of the Transformers aboard the Ark were awakened by a volcanic eruption, the Autobots attempted to track down their five missing comrades. A sensor drone tracked them to the Savage Land, but inadvertently wound up reactivating Shockwave, who headed straight for Oregon. He arrived just as the Autobots had claimed victory over the Decepticons, and his explosive entry saw all the weakened combatants knocked off-line. The Last Stand! Rounding up the bodies, Shockwave took control of the Ark, strung up the Autobots, decapitated Optimus Prime and restored his fellow Decepticons back to health. This came as something of a rude shock to Megatron, who awoke to find that Shockwave had decided it was only logical for him to take over leadership of the Decepticons in light of Megatron's failure. The New Order After Shockwave attacked the offshore oil-drilling platform of tycoon G.B. Blackrock to secure it as a secondary base of operations (consequently crippling Josie Beller and leading to her transformation into Circuit Breaker), a weakened Megatron engaged him in combat for leadership, but was soundly defeated, and grudgingly vowed to serve Shockwave. The Worse of Two Evils!

Speaking of "pecking order"...

Under Shockwave's command, the Decepticons took control of the Blackrock Aerospace Plant, and used its facilities to create the bodies of the Constructicons, which were then brought to life with the power of the Creation Matrix drained from Prime's head. The Next Best Thing to Being There! However, when Shockwave discovered that he could not bring his next creation, Jetfire, to life, he deduced that Prime had transferred the Matrix into the mind of the human, Buster Witwicky. Shockwave programmed Jetfire to capture Buster, but the boy was able to use the power of the Matrix to bring the robot under his own control to turn the tables on the Decepticons. Brainstorm! Under Buster's control, Jetfire knocked out Shockwave and Optimus Prime was reunited with his body, leading to a climactic battle between Shockwave and Prime, which ended when the Decepticon leader was buried in a swamp. Prime Time!

Finally extricating himself from the swamp after being trapped for several months, Shockwave returned to leadership of the Decepticons with some new ill-fated plans involving stealing sonic energy from a rock concert Rock and Roll-Out! and attempting to exploit Bumblebee as a weak link in the Autobot forces Plight of the Bumblebee!.

I have my good eye on you the whole time

When Wheeljack and Ratchet built Buster a mechanoid battle suit, the human test-drove it by attacking Frenzy. Shockwave responded to the attack, only to be briefly blinded when a desperate Buster flung a handful of sand into his optic sensor. The darkness this brought about revived memories of his four-million-year burial and his humiliating swamp submergence, and an enraged, barely-sane Shockwave disregarded logic in a desire for revenge that saw him pursue Buster throughout the night. As the new day dawned, Buster made one final attack with all the suit's power, which destroyed it but merely injured Shockwave. Seizing the boy in his hand, Shockwave was about to crush the life from him when the Autobot forces arrived to rescue him.Robot BusterHis rationality returning, Shockwave realized that Buster could potentially be a powerful tool to use against the Autobots, and had the Constructicons attempt to abduct him, but during the battle, Soundwave discovered that the Matrix had planted in Buster's mind a vision for the future of the Transformer race.Devastation DerbyShockwave watched intently as Soundwave tapped into Buster's dreams, and witnessed a vision of combiner Transformers battling. Little did he know that Soundwave was also beaming the vision to Megatron (now operating independent of Shockwave), who decided that it was time for him to retake Decepticon leadership. Shockwave and Megatron battled once more, but with Megatron at full health, the fight was much more evenly matched and drawn-out, and was even televised by the Decepticons' unwilling human ally, Robot Master. To prevent the Decepticons from being made to look like fools, Soundwave demanded they cease fighting and consent to a joint leadership. Begrudgingly, both agreed.Second Generation!

This joint leadership did not last long. Leaving Shockwave in charge of the Decepticon's Wyoming coal mine base, Megatron led a team of Decepticons to attack the Autobot base, only for the majority of their number to be deactivated and captured by Omega Supreme. At the same time, however, the Autobots attacked the Decepticon base to draw out Devastator, to learn more about the combiner process. With the day having firmly been won by the Autobots on both fronts, Megatron argued that although he may have charged into a trap, Shockwave had been ineffective enough to do nothing, and had allowed a trap to spring up around him. Bowing to the logic of this argument, Shockwave stepped down and allowed Megatron to resume sole command. Command Performances!

Shockwave's movements were unknown for the brief time that followed this embarrassment. He was absent from the Decepticons' base when the time-traveling future Decepticon Galvatron arrived from 2006 and temporarily disposed of Megatron, but returned not long thereafter. Wondering where everyone was, he was met by Thundercracker and Frenzy, who had escaped their confinement in the Autobot base, but then, abruptly, all three were mass-displaced into limbo when three future Autobots traveled back in time to thwart Galvatron's plans.Target 2006In limbo, Shockwave and his two companions battled alongside the similarly-displaced Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet against the deadly illusions created by the dimension's native lifeforms, before returning to their natural place in space and time when the time-travellers returned to their point of origin.Distant Thunder!

It was not long before Shockwave began scheming to return to the position of leader, and when Megatron summoned the Decepticon hunters the Predacons to Earth to stalk Optimus Prime, he saw his opportunity. Conspiring with them, Shockwave arranged for the team to turn on Megatron during the hunt, depriving him of his weapons, expecting that he would have no chance against Prime one-on-one.Prey!When Megatron did not return, Shockwave believed him dead, but in truth, he had escaped to Cybertron - though this was of little concern to the cyclopean schemer, who took up the mantle of leadership in his absence again. It was not long after this that Galvatron returned, having traveled back from the future once more, and now dancing dangerously on the edge of sanity. Fearing the threat Galvatron might pose to his own leadership, Shockwave had the Decepticons aid the Dinobots in battling him, and Galvatron departed rather than fight his own future troops.Fallen AngelShortly thereafter, Megatron returned from Cybertron with a case of amnesia, sparing Shockwave any retribution for his actions.Resurrection!

Not long afterwards, Optimus Prime perished in a video game duel with Megatron, but the Decepticon leader grew progressively more paranoid, fearing his foe had survived. Apparently attempting to shock Megatron back to his senses, Shockwave had the Predacons come to Earth and force him into a combat situation, implanting a copy of his personality program in the team so that he could "be part" of the battle from a safe distance. Events culminated in Megatron's apparent death when, having fully plunged into insanity, he blew the space bridge up while standing on it. Once again, Shockwave was leader. Gone But Not Forgotten!

Shockwave established regular contact with Cybertron Decepticon commander Ratbat, King of the Hill!and had the Seacons sent from Cybertron so that they could use their aquatic abilities to help fortify the Decepticons' new artificial mobile island base. It was while they were performing this task that Galvatron returned, advancing on the island, much to Shockwave's distress. He ordered the Seacons to attack, but Galvatron tore through both them and the base walls - he had, he claimed, come in peace, but that Shockwave's attack had made an enemy of him, putting all Decepticons in danger. This of course, was a complete lie, but it turned the Decepticons against Shockwave, thereby disrupting the one-eyed warrior's command.Enemy Action!

Shockwave's mistake was whittling Fort Max down to the story-protected human center.

After interfering in a scheme of Ratbat's, Buster Witwicky was captured by the Decepticons and brought to their island, which Shockwave then transformed into spaceship mode and took to the fringes of Earth's atmosphere. Autobot Headmaster leader Fortress Maximus pursued the craft and battled Shockwave in the void of space, where he defeated him and sent him tumbling back through Earth's atmosphere in free-fall. The Desert Island of Space!Although thought dead by many, Shockwave in actuality survived and returned to the Decepticons' original fortress base, where he concentrated on resolving the threat posed by Galvatron. Seeking to use the missing Megatron as a weapon against him, Shockwave had the small number of Decepticons still under his control recover a clone of the departed leader from the Thames river, which he and Snaptrap repaired and brainwashed using the psycho-probe.Salvage!Around the same time, Galvatron's fellow time-travelers Cyclonus and Scourge had joined up with Shockwave's Decepticons, but, chaffing in his service, Cyclonus wound up accidentally blurting out that they would be responsible for killing him in the future of 2008. Seeking to preserve his continued existence, Shockwave unleashed the Megatron clone upon them, resulting in the death of Cyclonus. Satisfied with the clone's performance, he dispatched him against Galvatron. Dry Run! The battle had an unexpected conclusion, however, when "Megatron" found a kindred spirit in Galvatron and actually joined forces with him. Altered Image!

It's down to you and me, you one-eyed freak!

This unfortunate chain of events led to Shockwave losing his grip on sanity. Unable to logically fathom the situation, he slipped into despondency, stringing up the remains of Cyclonus on the walls of his castle as a twisted trophy. What Shockwave did not realize, however, was that the repeated time-travel and the death of Cyclonus had caused a rift in space-time that threatened the stability of reality. Hoping to restore the balance by returning all time-travelers to their proper place in time, Scourge attempted to reclaim Cyclonus's body, but was shot down by Shockwave for his trouble. At Scourge's urging, Ravage was able to present events logically enough to Shockwave to restore some semblance of coherency to his thoughts, and Shockwave himself deposited Cyclonus's remains in the rift, and sealed it with an x-ray blast.Time Wars

Hypothesis: Shockwave should internalize his thought process.

It would be some time before Shockwave next resurfaced, emerging from sea on the coast of Blackpool, England, and killing a human who had seen him. Dark Creation Seeking to establish his own faction of Decepticons, he saved Starscream from Circuit Breaker The Human Factor!, and the pair, along with Ravage, recruited those who had grown disenfranchised with the leadership of the current Decepticon Earth commander, Scorponok. Eye of the Storm! The small group staged an attack on Scorponok's New Jersey base, and Scorponok and Shockwave battled in the waters around Manhattan before being interrupted by the super-team, the Neo-Knights. ...All This and Civil War 2 Shockwave used the ensuing confusing to implicate the Autobots in an attack on the human team, but was later recognized by Circuit Breaker as the robot responsible for crippling her, and was blown out of the sky by her powers. Out of Time! Abruptly, the battle was ended when the Transformers were all teleported to Cybertron to face the threat of Unicron, but even Shockwave's data grid could not compute the vastness of the threat the chaos-bringer posed. On the Edge of Extinction!

After Unicron was destroyed, Shockwave teamed up with Starscream once more to find the remains of the Autobots' Ark, which had crashed during the battle. Still Life! The pair succeeded in getting the craft airborne again, but were unaware that the numerous damaged Transformers in the ship's stasis pods had been reactivated with nucleon - Megatron among them - and that an alternate future version of Galvatron was also on board. Exodus! Conflict erupted when Megatron and Galvatron met, but the sight of Shockwave saw the two Decepticons team up against him. To put an end to things once and for all, the revived Ratchet sent the Ark crashing to Earth. A Savage Circle There was no indication that Shockwave survived, suggesting that his evil had once and for all been put to rest.

Marvel UK future timelines

In the alternate future timeline of Earth-120185, Shockwave attacked the unveiling of the first female Autobot Arcee in 1995 with Fangry, Squeezeplay and Horri-Bull. When Arcee quickly disabled his men, though, Shockwave took off and left them to fend for themselves.Prime's Rib!Years later, in 2004, he staged an attack on the opening day of Autobot City, but was defeated by the extremely illogical actions of Hot Rod, who threw him down a mountain, and jumped along with him for the ride.Aspects of Evil!

After Decepticon commander Galvatron disappeared following Unicron's attack on Cybertron in 2006, the new Autobot leader Rodimus Prime devoted his forces to searching the galaxy and making sure the Decepticon was truly dead. This diverted attention allowed Shockwave to assume leadership of the Decepticons in the chaos that followed, and he consolidated them into a strong force on Cybertron that ultimately resulted in a stalemate between the factions by 2008. Wanted - Galvatron Dead or Alive Knowing that the freelance peacekeeping agent named Death's Head had a grudge against Rodimus Prime, Shockwave had Blot hire him for 10,000 shanix to hunt down and exterminate the Autobot, providing him with secret entry into Cybertron and information about Prime's movements. At the same time, Shockwave allowed Scourge and Cyclonus, Galvatron's former top two lackeys, to brazenly go after Rodimus Prime themselves. Seeing the powerful duo as a potential threat to his position, Shockwave hoped that by tossing these various parties into the mix together, at least some of his problems would turn out dead. Headhunt

Unfortunately for Shockwave's plans, it was then that Unicron's influence was felt again, as he mind-controlled Cyclonus, Scourge and Death's Head into trying to assassinate Shockwave. Death's Head used the supposedly deactivated bodies of the duo to gain access to Shockwave's audience chamber, and then left his "comrades" to seal the doors while he chased down the Decepticon leader. After a hard fought battle, Shockwave was ultimately destroyed, his body blown to pieces and his memory module crushed between Death's Head's fingers, ensuring that he could never return. Still, the hunter was sickened by being forced to kill against his will, and Death's Head promised Shockwave's corpse that he would eventually avenge them both. The Legacy of Unicron!

Earthforce

Note:These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel continuity. See Earthforce for details.

Reality unfolds in many ways, across many dimensions. In one such dimension, it was not Scorponok that Shockwave challenged for leadership in the Decepticon Civil War, but a returning Megatron, and the two of them built their armies up for a renewed battle for control over the Earth. Upon hearing the Grimlock had somehow restored his Dinobots to life without the Creation Matrix, Shockwave and his soldiers attempted to force the secret out of the Dinobots. They failed, miserably. Two Steps Back!

Unable to gain an advantage over Megatron, Shockwave was forced to suggest an Enclave, a truce whereby the Decepticons could meet and hopefully overcome their differences as they had in the past, for the mutual goal of destruction of the Autobots. Certainly, the Autobots had something to say about that, and they rigged a scenario so that Megatron was tricked into thinking Shockwave had sent an assassin sniper to kill him during the meeting. A brawl broke out, and any chance at peace was chucked out the window, along with several dismembered body parts. The Bad Guy's Ball!

Thanks to a secret informer inside Megatron's camp, Shockwave was able to surprise his rival at the site of an energon delivery, and he and the Triple Changers overpowered Megatron and tossed him over a cliff, claiming his energon as their own. Secrets Turnabout's fair play, however, and Shockwave's own lieutenant Starscream tipped off Megatron about when Shockwave would be alone and open for attack. What's worse, Starscream and Soundwave took advantage of their leaders' absence to stage a coup, and so Shockwave and Megatron were left on the run from Earthforce while their troops abandoned them to their fates. Internal Affairs!

Shockwave and Megatron subsequently organized a hit on Starscream, using a series of cheap assassins to trick Starscream into assuming Soundwave wanted to wipe him out and assume sole command of the Decepticons. Assassins They then attacked their betrayers personally when it didn't go to plan, but were countered by the Earthforce, who needed Starscream alive to help heal Snarl, afflicted with Corrodia Gravis. Even with the help of Bludgeon's Mayhem Attack Squad, Megatron and Shockwave were forced to retreat. The Lesser Evil!

Fun Publications

Megatron decided to keep Shockwave alive in spite of past betrayals because of the use of his logical skills. However, he decided to prevent further betrayals by keeping him only as a head hooked to some sort of life support. Megatron queries him on information regarding Bug Bite, Shockwave tells him all he knows, but when he requests computer access for more information, Megatron refuses and closes up the chamber. Games of Deception

And knowing is half the battle, kids!

American cartoon continuity

Shockwave was a highly ranked Decepticon. Fanatically loyal to Megatron, Shockwave was entrusted stewardship of Cybertron by Megatron when the latter left to intercept an Autobot mission surveying for new forms of energy. Neither Decepticon suspected that Megatron's absence (and Shockwave's command) would last four million years. Little changed on Cybertron during those years, although Shockwave apparently lost his left hand and replaced it with a laser cannon. More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1

Shockwave bought himself on eBay!

He oversaw all the Decepticon activity on Cybertron, rarely leaving the planet. His keen scientific mind resulted in several incredible devices, including the space bridge and a time machine. Despite spending his time on Cybertron, Shockwave was not out of the conflict. He directed Cybertron's security forces when a group of Autobots returned to Cybertron after the planet was moved in Earth's orbit. The Ultimate Doom, Part 3

By 2005, Megatron had returned to Cybertron and conquered the planet, leading Shockwave to lay down his guardianship of the planet and rejoin Megatron's inner circle. He was present for Starscream's coronation, and subsequent destruction by Galvatron, the reformatted version of Megatron. With Galvatron indisposed, Shockwave commanded the Decepticon forces during Unicron's attack on Cybertron, and is believed to have been killed in the ensuing battle. Transformers: The Movie

Note:Though Shockwave's death was written into the movie's script, it did not make it into the released film. However, IDW's 20th Anniversary comic adaptation did include Shockwave's death. Shockwave's model did show up in season 3 episodes as possible animation errors or just a generic. He also appears in one single shot during the Battle of Autobot City, although this is generally held to be an error, since it's likely that he would have stayed at his usual post on Cybertron, and because he appears at no other time during the battle.

Japanese video game continuity

Call of the Future

Absolute Power, etc., etc.

Shockwave survived the destruction of Cybertron and continued to serve under the Decepticons. He grew frustrated with Galvatron's increasingly abusive leadership, and when he discovered the Zel Quartz, which could vastly boost the power of a Transformer, he implanted it into himself and staged a one-robot mutiny. Unfortunately, the power proved too much for Shockwave's systems and he ran wild. Neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons could stop him and they took massive casualties in the attempt. Shockwave eventually destroyed Cybertron, then set out on a quest to destroy all planets with life.

Elite teams of Autobots and Decepticons traveled to the past to prevent these events by either destroying or seizing the Zel Quartz years before Shockwave would find it.

Starscream overheard the conversation between Cyclonus and Galvatron as they discussed their nefarious intentions for using the Quartz. He took the Quartz from Optimus or Galvatron (depending on the story the player chooses), sent it into space and installed it. Cyclonus, Soundwave, Wheeljack, and Optimus were not concerned by this, and actually were a bit amused. They explained to the others that the quartz could only exist while in the planet's atmosphere. As a result, Starscream ran out of power and did nothing but float helplessly through the depths of space and time. With the Zel Quartz destroyed, the Transformers of the future returned to their own timeline.

Shockwave was among the present-day Decepticons sent to investigate the arrival of the visitors from the future. He remained ignorant of the circumstances that prompted their arrival. Transformers

Dreamwave comics continuity

Dreamwave is all his fault.

As a major player in the Decepticon army in Cybertron's past, Shockwave led the main attack on the Autobots' stronghold shortly after the appointment of Optimus Prime, and personally destroyed two guardian robots with one blast in space gun mode. The War Within

After Megatron's apparent death in an early space bridge test, the Decepticon faction splintered, with Air CommanderStarscream creating the "Predacons" and High Auditor Ratbat the Ultracons, while Shockwave led the Decepticons through the "Dark Ages" of Cybertron. During this period, his logic allowed him to put aside differences with Jetfire and the Autobots in order to defeat the greater evil of the Fallen. Meeting up with Jetfire to discuss the upsurge in violence, the two were attacked by the Chaos Trinity, and Shockwave was taken down. Recovered by the newly built Trypticon, Shockwave organized a counter strike against the three mystics that included Trypticon, Soundwave, Ravage, the Insecticons, and the Seekers. Exactly how logic dictated that Shockwave bring an entire army to deal with three rogue Decepticons is unknown. Grimlock's Lightning Strike Coalition arrived, saying that they had a stake in this, and Shockwave agreed to a temporary ceasefire. After the Fallen was defeated, Shockwave and Prowl agreed to seal the Well of All Sparks with six coded barriers for each faction. They were to remain in place until Cybertron was united. Or, as Shockwave put it, until all are one. The War Within: The Dark Ages As the Dark Ages came to an end, Shockwave was ready to sign a peace treaty with Ratbat's Ultracons and the Autobots, but the return of Megatron derailed the plan. Shockwave was tasked with reverse engineering the Quintesson-created clones he brought back to the planet with him, which suffered difficulties due to Megatron's refusal to divulge their origin, but greatly intrigued Shockwave. The War Within: Age of Wrath

Shockwave was left behind on Cybertron while Megatron's forces pursued Optimus Prime and were subsequently lost on Earth for four million years, and became Decepticon leader on the planet. He began experimenting with cloning, and through studies of Astrotrain and Blitzwing, began to conceive the idea of a Transformer with multiple alternate modes. Cybertron, however, was steadily growing lower and lower on energy, and in an attempt to create new energy-conservative Transformers, Shockwave allied with the Autobots for a pooling of resources that created the Micromasters. Destined For Nothing This came back to bite him, however, when the Decepticon Micromaster Skystalker attempted to overthrow his command, knocking him offline and decapitating him to use in a grotesque puppet show, giving orders to the other Decepticons by holding Shockwave's severed noggin up to a video screen. Victims of the Revolution When Skystalker was defeated, Shockwave was repaired, but eventually, he and all the other Transformers on Cybertron succumbed to stasis as the planet's energy ran out, and it entered a hibernation phase known as the "Great Shutdown."

3000 years ago, Unicron's herald Scourge located the dead planet, and reactivated Shockwave for study purposes. Generation One #0 However, when Shockwave was attacked by a swarm of Sharkticons, Scourge intervened and saved him, Cold War only to be shot in the back by the Decepticon and captured. Dissecting and studying Scourge, Shockwave learned many secrets about the function and purpose of Transformers and Cybertron from the secrets hidden within him. Using that knowledge, Shockwave steadily worked to restore Cybertron, reactivating its population and solving their energy needs, ending the war and unifying the planet. He also continued his experiments into multiple transformations, yielding the unstable Duocons, and then successfully mastering the process with Triple Changers. Capturing Alpha Trion, Shockwave sought to unlock the full secrets of Vector Sigma, having already learned of the mysterious significance of Earth to the Transformer race. Revelation In preparation for the invasion of the planet, Shockwave subliminally influenced the population of Cybertron to become more violent, Passive Aggression and prevented the return of Optimus Prime and Megatron aboard the Ark II by having a human agent blow it up. Revelation

Deja vu all over again.

In 2003, Shockwave made his move, heading to Earth with his Triple Changer troops and capturing Megatron and Optimus's forces, planning to try the two leaders as war criminals. Megatron was jettisoned into space by Starscream, New World Order while Prime escaped from his clutches and fell in with a rebel group. Cold War Mobilizing the planet's Autobots, Prime led an attack on Shockwave's citadel, and confronted Shockwave himself, only to be defeated by the Decepticon, who ripped the Matrix from him. Using the Matrix to activate Vector Sigma, Shockwave downloaded the compressed contents of the mega-computer into his network, but before he had an opportunity to view the data, he was pulled into a battle with Ultra Magnus. In the course of the fight, the fuel line to his cannon was severed, and the resulting explosion destroyed his citadel and knocked him into a chasm. Revelation

While the rest of Cybertron believed Shockwave to be deceased, he had actually survived the explosion and gone underground in the wastelands of Cybertron. Lost and Found In addition to re-establishing communications with the Insecticons on Earth (who had been operating there as an advance squad preparing the way for his invasion), Extermination Shockwave continued his experimentation, resulting in the creation of Sixshot. Soon after, however, Megatron returned to Cybertron and bested Shockwave, Lost and Found taking him to Earth where he did the same to Starscream. But now, the three players were assembled, each knowing certain dark secrets of Cybertron's past... The Route of All Evil

Note:...and then Dreamwave went out of business. Dag, yo.

Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. Transformers comics continuity

There are so many ways to make him look awesome.

In the absence of Megatron, Shockwave had assumed command of the Decepticons on Cybertron, and had successfully driven the Autobots into an underground resistance movement. When a number of GI Joe and COBRA troops, along with the captive Starscream, accidentally arrived on Cybertron via an overloaded wormhole gate, Shockwave and his troops immediately surrounded them. The same wormhole malfunction blasted a number of Transformers off of Cybertron and into random points of Earth's past, a temporal anomaly that threatened to scour the Earth's face with fire if the Transformers were not brought back.

Ultra Magnus and Perceptor arrived and were able to hold off the Decepticons for a time with a force field, while teams of humans were time-ported away to retrieve the missing Transformers and end the anomaly. Magnus's force field power ran out before all the teams had returned, and Shockwave had his troops capture the Autobots. He took personal pleasure in blasting Ratchet when he was returned through the gate.

Revealing that he had intended all along for the humans to discover the wormhole gate technology, Shockwave set the gate to continue operating but blocked the last remaining group from returning -- thus condemning Earth to destruction, easy pickings for conquest. Fortunately for Earth, two members of the GI Joe team were able to reactivate the gate, allowing the newly-created Dinobots to return to Cybertron. The Dinobots' power quickly drove Shockwave's Decepticons into retreat.

Regrouping on the other side of the planet, Shockwave had the long-missing Starscream brought before him. As Starscream attempted to explain his way out of being seen as a traitor, a recording of Cobra Commander's voice suddenly began to play, explaining that he had lined Starscream's hull with explosives. Shockwave leapt to try and stop the process, but the entire building exploded, apparently taking the two Decepticons with it.

With Shockwave's defeat, peace returned to Cybertron, and the Decepticons were driven back to a region known as the Gladiator Zone.

Dreamwave Transformers/G.I. Joe comics continuity

First guy to call him "Big Bertha" gets it in the face.

As one of the Decepticons who crashed to Earth in the Ark millions of years ago, Shockwave was retrieved by Cobra and pressed into service, taking on the alternate form of a massive artillery cannon. Chafing under the leadership of Cobra Commander, he was ordered to transform and destroy the AutobotSuperion. Trenches Although he did so, he was forced to fire sixteen consecutive times, despite needing to repair himself after every shot. The resulting strain on his structure irrevocably damaged him, and Cobra Commander refused to allow Megatron to use the power of the Matrix to restore him. The Iron Fist

IDW comics continuity

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

Shockwave was a Decepticon scientist on Cybertron six hundred thousand meta-cycles ago. He predicted the eventual destruction of Cybertron as a result of the Great War, and theorized that the war would spread across the galaxy. In anticipation of this, he seeded several worlds with an altered form of energon (this is possibly the Ore-13 later found by Starscream). After a long period of indeterminable length, at the beginning of the Ice Age on Earth, the Energon had become unstable, requiring Shockwave to place dampening devices across the worlds he'd seeded.

Shockwave began to have second thoughts over his choice of manicurists.

Before departing Cybertron, he was ordered to deal with an energon raid by the Dynobots (by destroying the energon and severely injuring the team of misfits). Vowing revenge, they followed him when he left the planet on the ship called the Skyfire.

Earth was the first world he visited to plant the devices on. Before he could leave though, his ship was destroyed and the Dynobots teleported down to attack him. The concept of the Dynobots' illogical behavior based off vengeance, along with the sheer force of their attack, left him off balance at first. Unable to win through logic, he developed thought patterns based off rage. This brutal, violent Shockwave decimated the Dynobots, burning off the organic coatings shielding them from the planet's high energon fields, forcing them into stasis lock. Deactivating his new 'rage' program for further study, Shockwave was prevented by leaving the planet by a dead man's switch on the Skyfire. A massive beam of energy plowed into the ground, causing a volcanic eruption which consumed Shockwave and the Dynobots. Spotlight: Shockwave

Megatron became suspicious of Shockwave's absence and assigned Bludgeon to search through Shockwave's files. Spotlight: Soundwave Bludgeon's findings later inspired him in part to reattempt Thunderwing's mad plot which had, in the meantime, left their planet uninhabitable. Stormbringer

Shockwave recruits inventor Tobias Muldoon to the Decepticon side (by pretending to be a friend to humanity). Hearts of Steel issue 1 As a huge ship, he does not participate in the Astrotrain's attempted attack on New York, and thus may have survived the story unharmed. Clever bot. His 19th century altmode is an ironclad warship.

Toys

Generation One

You can try to play Duck Hunt with him all day long, but it just doesn't work.

Shockwave (Decepticon, 1985)

Japanese ID number: 49

Accessories: "Magnetic impulse defuser" barrel

Shockwave transforms into a large Cybertronian handgun. He has light and sound electronics activated by his gun-mode trigger and powered by a 9-volt battery. The sound effects can be switched between two (fairly generic) blaster-sound frequencies with a small toggle on his battery pack.

Note:The rubber hose covering the wires connecting his torso and arm's electronics is particularly prone to dry-rotting. Be careful.

Shockwave: Tampon edition.

Shockwave with Fistfight (Action Master, 1990)

Accessories: Double-barreled "Turbo Rifle"

As an Action Master, Shockwave is a non-transforming action figure who combines elements of his cartoon model and original toy, with a few more details. He is compatible with any other Action Master weapon or vehicle. Part of the third wave of individually-carded Action Master figures, He came with his small robot partner Fistfight, who combines with Shockwave's handgun to form a "Lightning Gun" cannon.

Reportedly, early "test market" releases came with a rubber hose that connects from his gun-arm to his back, like the original toy. There are holes in the toy's gun-arm and backpack; the black hoses found in many old G.I. Joe toys can fit in the holes.

Alternators

Guns akimbo.

Shockblast (Alternator, 2004)

Alternator ID number:12

Japanese ID number:BT-13

Accessories: Muffler-blaster

A retooling of the "Meister" Alternator, "Shockblast" (trademark problems...) transforms into a 1:24-scale fully-licensed Mazdaspeed-modified RX-8 sports car. He features working car doors, hood, and trunk. His muffler unfolds to become a hand-held blaster; the mounting peg for car-mode actually pegs into the holes on his forearms by the elbow joints quite snugly, letting you mount the blaster there if you wish. While the box has the name "Shockblast", the car's actual license plate is "SHKWAV".

Aside from the new head, color change and the laser cannon replacing his left hand, other differences between Shockblast and Meister are that Shockblast has new front and rear fenders, doors, side skirts and a spoiler.

Attacktix

Shockwave

Proceed on your way to oblivion.This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Merchandise

Bust

Shockwave (Bust, 2003)

Shockwave reminisces back to when he had two hands.

In 2003, Hard Hero released a large polystone bust of Shockwave, based upon his Generation One cartoon appearance. This was released in two versions, the regular as shown in the picture and a limited edition 'metallic' version limited to 500 pieces worldwide.

Mini Bust

Yeah, I had to sell the trigger and most of the handle to feed my family.

Shockwave (Diamond Select, 2008)

Released by Diamond Select Toys in 2008, Shockwave was sculpted by Mark Wong of Art Asylum and limited to 1,000 pieces. Both his fist and "gun hand" are translucent to better match his toy incarnation.

Mini Statue

Shockwave (Mini statue, 2004)

Meet me in the bank....its going down..

Diamond Comics Distributors also released a small, six-inch polystone statue of Shockwave made by Palisades, based upon Pat Lee's rendition of the character in Dreamwave's Transformers comic books.

Robot Heroes

Grimlock & Shockwave (Robot Heroes, 2007)

He's logical and cute.

The most adorablest Shockwave ever, Robot Heroes Shockwave is a stumpy PVC figurine that combines toy and animation model details into a single package. He has limited articulation (neck and shoulder swivels only), but he's so cute it doesn't matter. He was available in a two-pack with a similarly lovable version of Grimlock.

Notes

Although Shockwave was depicted in the 1984 episodes of the original cartoon series, he did not receive a toy release until 1985. Unlike the bulk of early Transformers that drew their molds from Takara's Diaclone and Microchange toys, Shockwave's original form was first produced by ToyCo. As such, similar non-Transformer toys using the same mold were released in 1985, including a gray version called "Astro Magnum" and a Radio Shack exclusive called "Galactic Man". A minor but amusing difference between the Radio Shack version, humorously called "Shackwave" by fans, and the Hasbro version, is that Shackwave's trigger looks like a "trigger" and thus makes old Shack look like he is in a constant state of arousal.

A Cybertronian battle scene in Comic Bom Bom (reprinted in Transformers Generations) depicts Shockwave not in purple, but in the original grey color scheme of the Astro Magnum/Galactic Man toy.

Voice actor Corey Burton's based Shockwave's voice on that of actor David Warner, specifically his role as evil computer thingy Sark in Tron.[1] Burton even provided the voice of Sark in Kingdom Hearts II.

In the Japanese dub of the The Transformers cartoon, Shockwave's personality was altered from the American interpretation. Instead of being a monotone slave to logic he was presented like a grizzled old man with a loud, raspy voice and a very short temper.

One of the earliest pictured versions of Action Master Shockwave features some awkward proportions and Fistfight with reversed colors. Another oddity of this version is that Shockwave's right hand is sculpted in an open position.

A silhouette of Action Master Shockwave's card art appears on the back of the G.I. Joe Star Brigade packaging... as Hawk!

Shockwave bears the rather strange distinction of receiving a number of particularly high quality knockoffs, all of which known retain the electronics and some even having odd Flash Gordonesqueretools.

No episodes were ever shown about Megatron offering to give Shockwave his leadership if anything happened to him. Shockwave never even decided to lead the Decepticons in the movie after Starscream tossed him out of Astrotrain. Shockwave obviously didn't want the job.